


Do Not Deny His Death

by Chippani



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled: The Series (Cartoon), The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Blood and Gore, It gets bad, M/M, Prepare for the pain, haven't read the books in forever don't judge me, i almost feel sorry for writting this, i'm not but i almost was, like seriously, this is your final warning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-15 08:10:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19291744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chippani/pseuds/Chippani
Summary: When trying to get away from a group of empousai that interrupted their date, Nico accidentally shadow travels with Will to a place no demigod has gone: Old Corona.There, they encounter a young boy all alone that can't seem to grasp the reality of his situation.Or: Nico and Varian argue about Quirin's status within the amber.Mature because it get'sgraphic.





	Do Not Deny His Death

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man, oh boy, prepare for pain
> 
> I've never written anything like this before and, let me just say, it wasn't supposed to go as far as it did.  
> It's also probably super oocb but I've never seriously written anything HoO related.
> 
> I have an alternate ending that I'll tell you about later.

Nico fell over, Will barely being able to catch him before he hit the old, dusty floorboards beneath their feet. Will knew something wasn't right the moment Nico pulled him into the shadows, but it had been the only thing they could do. The empousa were relentless and they'd already had to deal with hellhounds. The couple was just too tired to deal with the monsters. Overall, the worst date they'd had so far, and they'd had a double date with Leo and Calypso. (An incident which he didn't want to think back on.)

Will desperately stroked Nico's hair, waiting for him to wake up. He was scared. No, beyond scared. He was terrified. They were sitting in an old house with strange black spikes coming through the floor and ceiling. He couldn't fathom how the place was still standing, yet there it was. At the moment, they were in a corner by an overturned table. He could tell it wasn't a safe place to rest, but Nico wasn't waking up anytime soon, and he didn't see a way out from where he was.

Muttering some healing hymns under his breath, he carefully shifted to lay Nico on the floor. The dust around them stirred and he began to wonder just how long the place had been abandoned.

He poured a small amount of nectar into Nico's mouth before he rose to his feet, cringing at how loudly the floorboards creaked. He needed to find out where they were and how to get out of the building before it collapsed on them. Or worse... He didn't even want to imagine what was worse, but he had a feeling it had to do with the spikes. Steeling his nerves, he stepped over the table and looked around. Furniture was broken and torn apart by spikes, plates and other pottery lay shattered on the floor. It was unsettling to say the least. Will was careful not to step on any of the ceramic shards as he moved to a window. One of the spikes had broken the glass, but that was probably a good thing, since the remaining glass was almost too dirty to see through.

Looking out, he could see a boy in a pale teal shirt with brown pants, an apron, black leather wrapped around his legs and a pair of goggles resting on his head. His hair was black like Nico's minus the blue stripe he could just barely see, and his complextion was certainly a more healthy tan than his boyfriend's. Despite being meer feet away from his love, Will couldn't help but find the young looking teen attractive. Maybe he just had a type. Yet something was nagging him. Something about the whole place felt wrong.

A raccoon popped up out of a barrel with an apple in it's mouth. The sudden appearance made Will jump. His foot slipped from under him and he yelped as he fell back. The wind was knocked out of him and he felt a sharp pain as a ceramic shard became embedded in his flesh. Blood stained the dusty floor as he sat up to inspect the wound, hissing in pain softly.

"Wh-who's the-there?!" He heard the stranger stammer as he mover closer to the window.

Will would have been perfectly fine staying silent until the boy left, but he heard Nico groan and knew there was no use. He slowly rose up, hands in the air, and gazed out the window. The teen had indeed moved closer, his pale blue eyes wide with fear, vials clutched in one of his gloved hands. "We mean you no harm. We just...got really lost."

"W-we?" The stranger eyed him suspiciously.

"Yes... We- my boy-"

"Will...? What's going on? Where are we?"

His blood ran cold as Nico's voice reached his ears. There was no way the strange teen didn't know his name now. The floorboards creaked loudly as Nico made his way over. He looked pale and exhausted. The teen stumbled back as Nico glanced out the window. "Wh...what? Will," Nico turned to the blonde. "Where...no... When are we?"

"Funny," Will's voice cracked, "I was hoping you could tell me..."

* * *

Nico watched Will as he cleaned his wound and pulled the shard out of his arm. The strange teen had nearly fainted when they'd found their way out and he saw the blood. It had been quite surprising to say the least. At the moment, he was turned away from them, so Nico thought it safe to pour a bit of nectar on the wound.

"So, ah. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Varian. I know he's Will, but I didn't catch your name." Varian said nervously.

"Nico." He really didn't care what Varian had to say, as he was more concerned with his significant annoyance at the moment. He pressed a gauze pad to the wound before wrapping it carefully. "Alright. Now come on Goldilocks, we need to find our way home."

"Oh, do you need a map? I have several back at home. Actually I just came out here looking for flour because I ran out while making cookies. Say, would you want to try them? I haven't made cookies since-"

"We'd love to." Will interrupted. Nico was grateful. The kid was cute but he didn't seem to know when to stop talking, and it was starting to Irritate Nico. It didn't help that Nico wasn't a very social guy in general.

"So what's Camp Half-Blood?" Varian said, glancing at their clothes.

Nico knew he'd gotten the camp's name from Will's orange shirt. It certainly was easier to talk about than the rainbow skull on his own shirt. "It's a camp we go to." He answered, stuffing his hands in his jacket's pockets. He was hoping it covered his own shirt so Varian wouldn't ask.

"Oh..." Varian glanced at his hands. He clearly didn't understand. "W-well, my home is, uh, right this way."

The trio started walking through the maze of spikes, the raccoon deciding to rest on Varian's shoulders. "This is Rudiger by the way."

_Ah, great._ Nico thought.  _He named a wild animal._

They reached the ruins of a castle and headed inside. Varian lead them to a sitting area then left the room to get the cookies. They both knew they should stay put and just wait for him so Nico would be rested enough to shadow travel again, but the door they'd passed on their way in was drawing his attention.

Will gripped Nico's arm as he moved towards it. "Nico..." He warned. Nico brushed him off. "It'll just take a second." He tried to reassure the son of Apollo.

It didn't work and Will slipped his hand into Nico's. The son of Hades almost smiled at that, but his mind was on the mysterious room. He pushed the door open and stepped inside slowly. Whatever he'd been expecting flew out the window.

The large amber crystal sat in the middle of the room, largely undisturbed by the chaos around it. Nico stared at the man trapped at the center and squeezed Will's hand.

"N-Nico... Is he-"

"Dead." He breathed. The moment he'd noticed him he'd tried to sense any life coming from the crystal. Admittedly, something could have been messing with his powers, but he really didn't sense any life from it. A sob tore through Will's throat and Nico felt him look away.

"You should have waited in there for me."

They whirled around to look at Varian when he spoke. He glared quietly at the couple and Nico put himself between Will and the younger looking teen. "Yeah, well, I couldn't help but notice the dead guy in your closet." Nico said coldly, jutting his thumb at the crystal.

"He's not dead!" Varian shouted, his expression twisted with rage and grief. "A-and this isn't a- it's not a closet, it's my lab!" The alchemist was in denial. Will shot Nico a warning glance. Nico seemed to have missed it. "Look, I get it. You're in denial because he's important to you, but he's dead and you have to-"

"You don't know that!"

Will's grip on Nico's hand shifted to his arm. Another warning that was ignored. "I'm sorry kid, but I don't sense any life left in him." Nico shook his head.

"Wh-what does that eve- what does that even mean?!" Varian took a step back, tears spilling over his dark lashes as his hand slipped into his bag. Nico clicked his tongue, cursing himself for the slip. "Look, I get it. You're in denial because he's important to you. I've been there, but dead is dead."

"You're wrong! He's alive, I know he is!" Varian cried. He clutched a pair of vials in his gloved hand, the glass starting to crack under the pressure.

"People die, kid. And that dude? He's dead. You need to accept that before-"

Will shoved Nico towards the wall as Varian flung the vials at them. The vials broke and the chemicals mixed, causing a small explosion that knocked the three apart. Varian was sent back out of the room and Nico's vision went black for a moment as he hit one of the tables.

He shakily rose to his feet and ran to Will. He didn't realize he was screaming his name until the word died on his tongue. The blood that was splattered on the cold stone floor was nothing compared to the actual sight of Will. His arm was torn to shreds, with muscles exposed and torn flesh. Bloody bone fragments peeked out from the meat of his arm and Nico realized it was only being held on by an inch of flesh.

Will himself probably would have been screaming if not for the dark spike protruding from his abdomen, blood running down it and shreds of orange polyester staining red around it. A deafening silence fell over them as Nico felt his life waver. Nico felt his own heart stop for a moment as he ran to Will's side, gripping his boyfriend's hand.

Rage bubbled up inside him as he heard Varian stumble back in. Then he just acted. Whether he wanted to kill the alchemist or just make him stay back, he didn't know. But he did call upon the earth to put something between them. Neither of them expected one of the black rocks to respond and shoot out of the ground near Varian's feet. Nico wasn't going to complain though, as it made the teen scramble back.

He took Will in his arms as best he could and quickly pulled him into the shadows, intending to take them as close to the infirmary as physically possible. He couldn't be sure if it worked, as he fell unconscious almost immediately after.

* * *

For one brief, beautiful moment when Nico opened his eyes again, everything was fine. But the universe was never so kind to the son of Hades to let that moment last.

He bolted upright, looking around frantically with only one thought on his mind. "Will!" He shouted between panicked breaths. He felt someone gently, but firmly grasp his shoulder and whirled around to face them.

"Neeks, you gotta calm down." Percy said, brows knitted together with concern. Annabeth was by his side, reaching out as well.

"Calm down?! Percy, I just saw my boyfriend dying! How could I calm down after that?!" Annabeth winced and pulled her hand back. Nico's heart froze. "No..."

_He couldn't be. This was Will they were talking about. Will couldn't die, he was one of the constants of this horrible world that had already taken so much from him._

But he was. Nico knew even before Hazel gently pulled him into a hug, with tears in her eyes and a prayer on her mind. He barely felt as they all hugged him tightly, trying to keep him together as he fell apart before their eyes.

Will solace was dead.

And a piece of Nico died with him.

* * *

Leo was starting to really hate funerals. There had just been too many in his short life. This one especially hit him hard though.

Will was someone everyone secretly believed was immortal. He was just one of those people who had been so kind, so good to the world that people believed he would live forever. He was a gift to the world. And none believed that more than the terror himself, Nico di Angelo.

Leo felt horrible that he'd been able to come back while two others who deserved life more than him, in his eyes, had perished. It was only made worse by the blank stare on Nico's face as he looked at the fire, not even acknowledging the tears dripping from his chin. Or maybe he didn't care that he was showing so much emotion. He did just loose his boyfriend...

Leo stepped closer, noting the frost and dead grass around the teen. He chose to take the risk and gently touched his shoulder. It was cold as ice, but Nico didn't move to brush him off.

"This is my fault." Nico's voice came softly, as if he would break again if he said it any louder.

"Ay no, this isn't your fault." Leo whispered. He was more afraid for the teen than of him, and he didn't like this change.

"How is this not my fault?" Nico wrapped his arms around himself as iff to keep himself together. "If I hadn't taken him out on that date or shadow traveled, or even noticed that man was dead, Will would be here...with me... **Alive**... Instead he's-"

The words caught in his throat and he bit his lip. Leo's own vision blurred with tears. The temperature started to drop around them. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Nico slowly looked at him. No matter how true it was, a piece of him would always want to take the blame for it. But Leo was helping more than he could possibly know.

The teen let himself be pulled into a hug. Leo felt like, maybe they could really become friends now. After all, it was what a grieving teen needed.

_Wasn't it?_

**Author's Note:**

> That was... Something, wasn't it?  
> Yeah...
> 
> So, in the alternate ending, Will lived, but he lost his arm and he had to spend months recovering and Nico was very much not okay. Maybe I'll add that onto this one later if I feel like writing it.  
> Who knows.
> 
> Is this what you expected?


End file.
